Ugly Hero - Chapter 7

Lu Nanzhu did not have to wait long before someone immediately leaped onto the arena.

Gongsun Qing looked at the person beside her and patiently explained, “There are many unaffiliated wanderers in the jianghu. The first half of this kind of event is a good opportunity for them to show off their skills. First, they can earn themselves some reputation in the jianghu. Second, if any force on the high platform takes a liking to them, they may be recruited under that faction.”

After hearing this, Lu Nanzhu nodded in sudden understanding.

“Young Master Lu, greetings. I am Wang Hu from Henan. Please instruct me.”

“Please.”

Wang Hu held the golden-backed great chopping saber in his hands upright before his chest, then charged toward Lu Mingyuan.

Lu Nanzhu shook her head. Wang Hu’s whole body was full of openings, especially his lower stance, which was extremely unstable.

Lu Mingyuan held his longsword and dodged left and right, nimbly avoiding Wang Hu’s first two attacks.

Then he took a step back, drew his sword, and fought Wang Hu.

Lu Nanzhu could see that Lu Mingyuan’s martial arts were far above Wang Hu’s. He was merely sparring with Wang Hu symbolically.

Sure enough, after ten moves, Lu Yuanshan used a move called Falling Leaves over Level Sand and swept at Wang Hu’s lower body.

Wang Hu climbed up from the ground. Knowing he was no match, he cupped his hands toward Lu Mingyuan and slunk off the arena in defeat.

“You let me win!”

“Junior Brother Lu remains the arena holder. Is there any other hero willing to come up and offer instruction?”

…

After Lu Mingyuan held the arena for three full rounds, he was defeated by a man wielding twin sabers.

However, after that, very few arena holders could defend their position for long. At most, they would win one round before being defeated by the next challenger.

As time passed, the martial arts of both challengers and defenders grew stronger and stronger, and the fights became increasingly exciting.

Lu Nanzhu watched with great interest. She rarely clashed with others head-on. More often, she relied on her outstanding qinggong to avoid her opponents.

In truth, she greatly longed to spar with others once or twice, to see exactly how good her own martial arts were. That was why she had accepted the challenge letter from the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun.

That time, she had easily broken through the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun’s Coiling Dragon Formation. From then on, Lu Nanzhu’s confidence in her martial arts had greatly increased. Unfortunately, after that, she had no more opportunities to spar.

The Heavenly Demon Art left behind by the Eccentric Hero was an internal cultivation method. It contained no basic moves.

Therefore, Lu Nanzhu’s techniques were very lacking. Most of the time, she used only the simplest chops and slashes. Fortunately, with her powerful inner force supporting her, their might was still astonishing.

This time was different. The matches on the stage came one after another, and the martial arts styles of every sect and school appeared endlessly. Lu Nanzhu very quickly became engrossed.

She watched their moves with complete focus, silently memorizing every stance and technique in her heart, while imagining under what circumstances she could use each move and what kind of power it would have.

Gongsun Qing turned her head several times to examine Lu Nanzhu, but the latter did not notice at all.

At this moment, Lu Nanzhu was like a sponge, crazily absorbing what she lacked.

Gradually, after seeing more and more of these simple moves, Lu Nanzhu inevitably began to feel that they were somewhat repetitive. They could no longer satisfy her needs.

In the blink of an eye, two shichen had passed. At that moment, a young man flew down from the high platform.

Like Su Mubai, he borrowed force three times to leap onto the arena, but the movement technique he used was completely different from Su Mubai’s. It was even more elegant and carefree.

Seeing this qinggong, Lu Nanzhu’s eyes lit up.

The man landed on the arena, shook the hem of his robe, and cupped his hands toward his opponent with a longsword in hand.

The crowd around the arena immediately quieted down. Lu Nanzhu also sensed that something was unusual.

Gongsun Qing’s voice sounded beside Lu Nanzhu’s ear at just the right moment. “This is the Third Young Master of Huaxia Manor, Xia Qinze. Watch carefully. The main show has begun.”

Lu Nanzhu nodded. Without realizing it, she had already relaxed her guard against Gongsun Qing.

As Su Mubai announced the start of the match, Xia Qinze flew forward, but he did not draw his sword. Relying purely on the skill in his legs, he forced his opponent to retreat step by step, exhausting him with defensive blocks.

The spectators below the arena also began whispering among themselves.

“As expected of a young master from a great family. The depth of his martial foundation is worlds apart from people like us. That Shao Qingsong is also a rather famous hero in the Jiangbei region, but from the looks of it, I’m afraid he won’t last ten moves.”

“Exactly. He hasn’t even drawn his sword yet!”

“Third Young Master Xia only just came of age last year, right? That qinggong just now was no weaker than Su Mubai’s…”

“Hey, have you heard?”

“What?”

“I heard this Xia Qinze has his eyes set on becoming the next manor master. Last year, for his coming-of-age ceremony, the Second Old Master of Huaxia Manor held an extremely grand celebration. Its prestige could even compare with the Young Miss’s hairpin ceremony…”

These conversations were all heard by Lu Nanzhu. She looked at Xia Qinze on the arena, whose leg techniques stirred up fierce wind with every move, then could not help secretly looking toward the high platform. There sat the young girl dressed in fiery red.

Under the bamboo hat, Gongsun Qing saw Lu Nanzhu’s movement and curved the corner of her lips. Things seemed to be getting more and more interesting.

The result of this match held no suspense. Xia Qinze did not even draw his weapon before kicking his opponent off the stage.

The cheers rose higher and higher, one wave after another. Xia Qinze cupped his hands without arrogance or impatience, then turned his head toward the high platform and smiled slightly.

Xia Qinyi looked coldly at Xia Qinze on the arena. There was not the slightest trace of her usual young miss demeanor on her face. At this moment, she was solemn and steady, very much matching her status.

The sect master of the Tianqiong Sword Sect stroked his beard and said to Xia Qinyi, “Third Young Master’s Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Leg Techniques have truly received the Second Old Master’s true teachings.”

Xia Qinyi smiled. “Uncle is right. Third Brother’s leg techniques are indeed outstanding.”

Xia Qinze defeated three opponents in a row without ever revealing his blade. When the third challenger was also kicked off the arena within ten moves, no one standing below the arena stepped out to challenge him again.

After a brief silence, several important figures seated on the high platform nodded slightly.

The time left for unaffiliated jianghu wanderers to display themselves was now declared over. It was time for the five great sects to show their strength.

With a fluttering sound, another person flew from the high platform onto the arena.

Lu Nanzhu noticed that this person only borrowed force twice along the way, and her eyes lit up. The good show had begun!

Gongsun Qing looked strangely at Lu Nanzhu beside her. Since just now, this person had been almost motionlessly staring at the arena. Aside from when those few people mentioned matters concerning Huaxia Manor, which distracted his attention, there had been no other fluctuation.

Even through the mask, Gongsun Qing could feel the excitement surging from this person. Gongsun Qing did not understand what he was so happy about.

“I am Sun Xing of the Raging Saber Sect. I ask to learn from Third Young Master’s Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Legs!”

“Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Legs…” Lu Nanzhu murmured after him.

With a “zheng,” the treasured saber left its sheath.

This time, Xia Qinze did not dare be careless. The Raging Saber Sect’s saber techniques were known for their hardness and ferocity. Facing an opponent evenly matched with himself, he slowly drew the sword in his hand.

Seeing this scene, Xia Qinyi on the high platform smiled. Others did not know Xia Qinze’s true weaknesses, but she knew them clearly. If Xia Qinze had gone all out using his leg techniques, victory and defeat would still have been uncertain. But now, because he feared the weapon in Sun Xing’s hand, he had abandoned his own strengths. He was certain to lose.

Very quickly, three moves were exchanged on the arena. Lu Nanzhu frowned. Why was Xia Qinze’s upper-body skill this poor? She had still wanted to learn more techniques from Xia Qinze, but it seemed that would not happen.

Although Sun Xing of the Raging Saber Sect was tall, mighty, and imposing, his thoughts were quite meticulous. In fewer than ten moves, he had already seen Xia Qinze’s problem. However, Huaxia Manor was a famous and prestigious family after all. He could not let Xia Qinze lose too badly.

Thus, Sun Xing deliberately exchanged over a hundred moves with Xia Qinze before finally finding one of Xia Qinze’s openings and placing his saber against Xia Qinze’s neck.

“Mm.” The sect master of the Raging Saber Sect nodded in satisfaction.

“Third Young Master, you let me win!”

Xia Qinze cupped his hands toward Sun Xing. He accepted this favor.

“Good!” Thunderous cheers erupted below the arena once again. On the high platform, Xia Qinyi slowly stood.

“Qingzhu.”

Hearing this, the black-clothed man who had always followed beside Xia Qinyi immediately presented the Phoenix Blood Saber with both hands.

“Young Miss?” Xia Quan had not expected Xia Qinyi to enter the field so early. After all, in this kind of wheel battle, the later one appeared, the more advantageous it was.

Xia Qinyi turned back and gave Xia Quan a reassuring smile. “Uncle Quan, Third Brother is a disciple of my Huaxia Manor. This battle should naturally be taken up by me.”

Master and servant looked at each other. Xia Quan immediately understood Xia Qinyi’s intention. Heat surged in his chest, and he nodded excitedly. That little child who had once needed others to protect her had finally grown up. Master, can you see this?

Xia Qinyi could not directly confront Xia Qinze, but she could use another method to let everyone under heaven understand that she was a hundred times stronger than Xia Qinze!

The surrounding crowd stirred. Lu Nanzhu did not understand what was happening until Gongsun Qing also gave a soft “yo.”

Only then did Lu Nanzhu follow Gongsun Qing’s gaze and see that fiery red figure walk to the edge of the high platform.

“Ah! Young Miss Xia is personally taking action!”

“Isn’t Young Miss Xia entering too early?”

“What do you know? How can the dignity of Huaxia Manor be damaged? Third Young Master lost, so the Young Miss is going to win it back. It is perfectly reasonable!”

“Is that the legendary Phoenix Blood Saber?!”

Hearing the three words “Phoenix Blood Saber,” Lu Nanzhu’s heart tightened. Her eyesight was excellent, so naturally, she clearly saw the lifelike phoenix hilt of the saber in Xia Qinyi’s hand.

Lu Nanzhu had never expected that Xia Qinyi was the successor of the Phoenix Blood Saber!

When she had finished reading the letter left by the Eccentric Hero, she had already held a faint sense of anticipation toward the “successor of the Phoenix Blood Saber.” It was a very mysterious feeling, as if it came from some kind of inheritance.

By a twist of fate, she had become the successor of the Eccentric Hero. Her master had helped her escape to the world above and undergo a complete transformation, yet had only left behind two insignificant requests.

Lu Nanzhu naturally would not shirk the duty of protecting Tianshan. As for the successor of the “Phoenix Blood Saber,” Lu Nanzhu had already regarded “him” as her destined opponent.

Now, this opponent turned out to be someone she had met before. Moreover, the manner of their first meeting was unforgettable. This feeling was truly indescribably strange.

Xia Qinyi lightly tapped her foot and leaped up. When she flew to the highest point, she used the move Kite Flips Over, like an arrow piercing the sky, spinning as she shot toward an even higher point. At the peak, Xia Qinyi used Cloud Ladder Steps, borrowing force from force, and flew onto the arena.

Xia Qinyi’s idea was very clever. Although she borrowed force once, she did not land on the ground. With one move, she let people distinguish the difference between her and Xia Qinze.

“Good!” This time, the cheers were unprecedented.